A bold choice for warden

The Monroe County Prison Board made a bold choice for a new warden, a local woman with big-city-jail supervisory experience. Hopefully, Marlene Chamblee of Cresco is the right person to implement reforms, improve accountability and raise morale in the wake of the sex scandal that has rocked the Snydersville facility.

The Monroe County Prison Board made a bold choice for a new warden, a local woman with big-city-jail supervisory experience. Hopefully, Marlene Chamblee of Cresco is the right person to implement reforms, improve accountability and raise morale in the wake of the sex scandal that has rocked the Snydersville facility.

Chamblee, 44, worked at Rikers Island in New York City for 20 years and quickly rose through the ranks at the 2,600-inmate facility. At age 25 she became Rikers' youngest supervisor. She retired as a captain three years ago and moved with her husband and family to Cresco. Most recently Chamblee worked at the Clymer Library in Pocono Pines.

Chamblee dealt with a large, diverse, often-hardened criminal element at Rikers Island, a facility with 2,000 employees. She will need to draw on that experience to enact the required far-reaching changes at the Monroe County Correctional Facility.

Six of the county's 94 corrections officers were charged with institutional sexual assault for allegedly engaging in sex acts with inmates, in incidents dating back to at least mid 2006. A kitchen employee also was charged with a sex crime and another corrections officer was charged with giving contraband — her cell phone — to inmates. Some have pleaded guilty to various charges and been sentenced. Others await trial. One corrections officer has been sentenced to serve time in the same facility where he committed his crimes.

In addition to dealing with budget and general personnel issues, Chamblee will have to enact various reforms — already authorized by the prison board — aimed at making corrections officers more accountable and inmates safer. This includes increased electronic surveillance of the facility, stricter controls on contraband items, and more rapid rotations of officers to various shifts and details so they aren't tempted to fall into bad habits based on familiarity.

Discipline for infractions will have to be swift and just. At the same time, Chamblee will have to do what she can to improve morale among employees — the vast majority of whom perform their duties with professionalism despite the trangressions by a few fellow officers. And she will have to do this while the union that represents corrects officers tries to negotiate a new contract with the county.

Chamblee's mere presence begins to address one reform recommendation issued last year by a Monroe County investigating grand jury: that more females be considered for supervisory positions.

Chamblee appears to have the right training, experience and temperament for the job. It's a big challenge. We will find out how she does with the passage of time.